Obama reverses Bush decision on endangered species act

It may seem like a small shift given the problems facing the world, but today is a very big day for the planet and its animal species. Today the President of the United States reversed a ruling that would have removed protection for thousands of endangered species and habitats. The Guardian has more:

Barack Obama restored protections for endangered species today in a roll-back of one of the most contentious last-minute rule changes of the George Bush era. "For more than three decades, the Endangered Species Act has successfully protected our nation’s most threatened wildlife, and we should be looking for ways to improve it – not weaken it," Obama said today. The rule change, which was made final in mid-December last year, left it up to government agencies to decide on their own whether new dams, logging or mining operations posed a threat to endangered species or their habitat. The rule also said that a project’s impact on climate change should no longer be a factor when taking into account its impact on wildlife. The Bush-era changes amounted to rolling back the clock on 35 years of protocol.